Set top boxes (STBs) may be used to receive and decode digital television or cable broadcasts. More recent STBs may also have the ability to interface with data networks, thereby allowing a user to interact with, e.g., the Internet, via a television instead of through a computer. A variety of different types of STBs can exist, including those that merely receive and unscramble encoded television or cable signals to those that can act as a multimedia gateway for receiving multimedia content, to those that can function, for all intents and purposes, as a multimedia desktop computer that can execute various advanced services, e.g., videoconferencing, home networking, IP telephony, video-on-demand, etc.
Digital rights management (DRM) can refer to various access control technologies that can be implemented in STBs or other devices that render digital content. In particular, DRM technology can be used to allow service and/or content providers to provide digital content securely, where DRM-protected content may be encrypted and packaged with a license to enforce authorized consumption of the DRM-protected content. Examples of such DRM technology can include, but are not limited to the following: Apple's iTunes® technology; Windows Media® DRM; Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) DRM; Digital Transmission Licensing Authority Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP); and Digital Video Broadcasting Content Protection and Copy Management (DVB-CPCM).
Mobile TV can refer to providing TV services to mobile devices, such as cell phones, handheld mobile computers (e.g., personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones, tablet computers), music players (e.g., MP3 players) over mobile telecommunications networks. Mobile TV enables users to access TV related content on their mobile devices. Video, audio, and interactive content may be provided by mobile TV broadcasts. Many broadcasters already provide mobile TV broadcasts, and the numbers of such broadcasts in the marketplace are steadily increasing, where mobile TV signals from broadcasters can be broadcast according to numerous mobile TV standards. Example mobile TV standards include, but are not limited to digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H), digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), TDtv, 1seg, DAB, and MediaFLO. Mobile TV can include pay TV services and/or content, which can refer to subscription-based or paid-for TV services and/or content, which can be provided by, e.g., analog cable, digital cable, satellite technologies via digital terrestrial and Internet TV. Such pay TV services and/or content may be protected utilizing DRM technology